Month: November 2023

A U.S. military Osprey aircraft crashed into waters off southern Japan on Wednesday morning, killing at least one person and leaving several more missing.  The CV-22B Osprey is based at Yokota Air Base and assigned to the 353rd Special Operations Wing, according to the Air Force Special Operations Command (“AFSOC”), who later issued a statement saying that eight were on board.

According to the Associated Press, the Japan Coast Guard confirmed to CNN that they received information about the crash around 2:47 p.m. local time after they received an emergency call from a fishing boat near Yakushima Island, which is around 130 miles south of Japan’s Kyushu Island.

The coast guard said in a statement that a member of the public called 118, Japan’s version of 911, at 2:47 p.m., and it immediately deployed patrol vessels and aircraft to the scene. At 4 p.m. (2 a.m. ET) a rescue team including boats from the coast guard and a local rescue center found “wreckage-like debris” and an overturned life raft, with no people in the raft. The coast guard confirmed that one man was recovered from the sea “unconscious and was not breathing” 1.8 miles from Anbo Port, which is near the accident site on the eastern side of Yakushima, by a boat from the Yakushima Town Rescue Center. They were given CPR and taken to Anbo Port, before later being pronounced dead at a local area hospital.

The U.S. Air Force said that the aircraft was involved a “mishap while performing a routine training mission off the shore of Yakushima Island.” Hiroyuki Miyazawa, Japan’s vice defense minister, told local reporters “in light of this incident, the minister of defense has asked the relevant departments to cooperate with the Japan Coast Guard to confirm whether or not there are any victims and to do their utmost to rescue them … adding … ‘the U.S. side explained to us that the pilot did his best until the very end, so we’re using the term ‘emergency water landing.’”

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Authorities confirm that three people are dead and one person hospitalized after an explosion at an auto repair shop in Hillsboro, Ohio. Hillsboro is about 50 miles east of Cincinnati; the Visitors Bureau of Highland County posted a message on social media asking for “continued prayers for our community.”

Local CBS affiliate WKRC reported that the explosion occurred at Jimbo’s Auto Repair at around 4 p.m. local time on Tuesday, Nov. 28. The blast was felt at several nearby sites including the Paint Creek Joint EMS & Fire District, whose crews quickly responded to the scene.  Paint Creek Joint EMS/Fire District Chief David Manning shared that the hospitalized victim remains in stable condition. The names of the victims and further information about them have not been released.

The Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Office said that the cause of the explosion remains under investigation Wednesday.  Officials for the U.S. Department of Labor said that the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is also at the site as of Wednesday.

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On Tuesday, Hunter Biden’s attorney said that Biden has agreed to testify – publicly – in front of the House Oversight Committee.

In a letter to Oversight Chair James Comer, R-Ky., Biden’s attorney Abbe Lowell said his client will participate in the hearings on Dec. 13 (set by the committee), or “any date in December that we can arrange.” Lowell also called the investigation as an “empty” waste of government resources, saying that an open (public) hearing would prevent “selective leaks, manipulated transcripts, doctored exhibits, or one-sided press statements … We have seen you use closed-door sessions to manipulate, even distort the facts and misinform the publi.  We therefore propose opening the door.”

However, Comer rejected the idea of Hunter Biden testifying in public initially and called on him to abide by a closed-door hearing: “Hunter Biden is trying to play by his own rules instead of following the rules required of everyone else. That won’t stand with House Republicans. Our lawfully issued subpoena to Hunter Biden requires him to appear for a deposition on Dec 13. We expect full cooperation with our subpoena for a deposition but also agree that Hunter Biden should have the opportunity to testify in a public setting at a future date.”

Comer issued subpoenas targeting Hunter Biden, his brother James Biden, and his business associate Rob Walker on Nov. 8; with the committee calling for James Biden on Dec. 6, and Walker on Wednesday. The committee said it had obtained financial reports showing members of the Biden family set up shell companies to hide payments to “foreign adversaries,” with many established while Joe Biden was serving as vice president. However, White House spokesman Ian Sams countered that the inquiry had “turned up no evidence to support their outlandish allegations of bribery and ‘high crimes and misdemeanors,’ which they claim are motivating their open-ended ‘impeachment inquiry.’”

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Former president Jimmy Carter, 99, made a rare appearance on Tuesday afternoon to attend his late wife Rosalynn Carter’s memorial service in Atlanta, Georgia. Carter, the 39th president of the United States, has been in hospice care at home, after terminating medical intervention in February amid his own health challenges; while Rosalynn Carter was diagnosed with dementia in May, and entered hospice care just days ahead of her death on Nov. 19 at age 96.

Mrs. Carter died peacefully at her longtime Plains, Georgia, home with her family by her side, according to a news release from The Carter Center. In an accompanying statement, President Carter said, “Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished. She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”

The ceremonies for Mrs. Cater began Monday with a wreath-laying at Georgia Southwestern State University’s Rosalynn Carter Health and Human Sciences Complex. The motorcade accompanying Rosalynn made stops at at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, Georgia, where past and current members of her Secret Service detail escorted the hearse. The former first lady was then taken to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, where members of the public were invited to pay respects.

Along with President Carter, the invitation-only ceremony on Tuesday was attended by current President Joe Biden, former President Bill Clinton, Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff. Every living U.S. first lady — including Dr. Jill Biden, Melania Trump, Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Laura Bush — also attended Tuesday’s tribute service for Rosalynn. A formal funeral service for family and friends will take place at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains on Wednesday, Nov. 28th.

Rosalynn was married to Jimmy for 77 years, and served as the nation’s first lady during his tenure as President of the United States from 1977 to 1981. The couple share four children — Jack, Chip, Jeff, and Amy — and numerous grandchildren and great-children.

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